


Unconditional Kindness

by birdlight



Series: The Starting Line [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Genre: Awesome Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, M/M, One Shot, POV Bucky Barnes, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Sam Wilson is a Saint, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21793795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdlight/pseuds/birdlight
Summary: Bucky faces a loss and Sam picks up the pieces. They sort of share a bed.Part Nine of The Starting Line series. A series of one-shots exploring the relationship between Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Slow Burn
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Sam/bucky, Winter Falcon - Relationship
Series: The Starting Line [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1491617
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	Unconditional Kindness

The kittens rolled around on the bed, locked in mortal combat, neither one wanting to surrender. Bucky discovered they were brothers, and he hadn’t gotten around to giving them names so for now, and to Wanda’s amusement, resorted to calling them Thing one and Thing Two. She spent part of the morning with them, awing over their cuteness. Bucky even caught her smiling, something he hadn’t seen for a while. He moved his hand over them, and rolled them both over, tousling them like puppies. On the way home they stopped at a pet store and after arriving home stacked their new collection of cat beds, litter boxes and toys up against the far wall.

A knock at the door arrested their attention, and Sam entered. Both kittens snapped to attention, making Bucky chuckle as he imagined them saluting.

“Isn’t this cozy?” Sam said, sitting down in a chair on the side of the room. Thing One crossed to the edge of the bed but miscalculated, falling on the floor. Sam rescued it, but his small claws latched onto the edge of his hand, refusing to let go.

“He likes you,” Bucky said, “I think I’ll call him Thomas.”

Sam sighed. “My middle name? Really? Bucky, I wish you hadn’t done that,” he said, detaching the kitten from his hand and plopping it back on the bed. There was something about the tone in his voice. The way he lowered his volume, and his eyes shifted. He was about to break bad news.

“What shouldn’t I have done now?”

“Thought about names. Seems they gave us a false lead. That wasn’t our guy, he was out for the day, and he wants his doorknob replaced... and his cats back.” Now his tone was apologetic. “He wasn’t angry, he understood why we were there, even thanked us for looking out for them. Seems like a nice guy, but he misses them. I’m sorry.”

Bucky’s hand stopped in mid-air over the other kitten who attempted jump up on it. His acrobatics failed, gravity forcing it back down on the bed. Any other time that would have been funny.

“No,” he said. He picked them both up and held onto them. The animals had filled a void in his life he didn’t know existed until he brought them home. 

“Bucky, they’re his. He just got them. He doesn’t have anybody or anything else in the world. He’s a lonely guy. We don’t have a choice,” Sam said. “I really am sorry, but better now than later when you get too attached to them.”

“I’m already attached to them!” He placed them back on the bed and got up, walking over to the dresser with the mirror. He stared at his reflection for a moment. “I can’t have one damn thing that’s mine, something that sticks around?” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn’t want to give in, to fight it, but he didn’t have a case. Captain America and a pet stealer didn’t go together. He had to protect Sam’s reputation, even for something as small as this. “Go ahead, take them!” He didn’t mean for his voice to sound that sharp. None of this was Sam’s fault.

“Bucky…” Sam began, but Bucky refused to turn around. He thought about holding them one more time and telling them goodby but knew that wouldn’t help. He closed his eyes listened as Sam gathered up the cats and didn’t move until the door closed behind them. 

His old self would have hit the wall, but now he just flopped back down the bed, his eyes closed so he wouldn't see the stack of things he bought on impulse, just like he impulsively brought those cats home. He regretted not telling Sam to take it all away and give them to the other guy, he wouldn’t be needing them. His partner was right. It was a stupid move on his part. Their lifestyle wasn’t conducive to pets, and they belonged to someone else, someone who would probably love them and take care of them... but deep down he knew it wasn’t just about the cats. Their presence here meant having something real, and tangible, something that needed him without his super strength and metal arm.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, stewing in his anger and hurt, hours probably. He was just about to go break the news to Wanda when he heard a knock on the door.

“Hey,” Sam’s voice came through. “Can I come in or are you still mad at me?”

“I’m not mad you you,” Bucky said, “Just mad at life, come in.”

The door opened but Sam didn’t enter right away. He seemed to struggle with something but with one continuous movement; he came in and deposited two pet carriers on the bed. Small eyes looked out at him from behind the grilled opening.

“What the hell is this?” Bucky asked. He didn’t know whether to be angry or annoyed.

Sam reached down and released the latches on the carriers. Two small orange kittens wandered out, uncertain of their surroundings. One had short hair, and the other was a small fluff ball. “Meet Thomasina and Gem, spelled G-E-M. It was the only female equivalent of James I could think of. Only fair, if you’re naming one after me. They’re sisters.”

“You can’t just go around replacing pets…”

“They weren’t your pets! You had them for less than a day. It’d be different if you had them for years and they just passed away from old age this morning. Now these two need a good home, and I think you can give it to them. All that stuff we bought shouldn’t go to waste, so I told the people at the shelter we had everything we needed. So do you want them or do I pass them on to Wanda? I’m not taking them back.”

“You took the time to go down to the shelter and find these just because losing those cats upset me?” Bucky asked. 

“Yes, I did, and yes, it’s over the top. I don’t understand it, but I know those cats meant something more to you than just having pets, and you don’t have to tell me about it now. Just... do you want them?”

The small faces looked up at him as if expecting awaiting his answer. Bucky swallowed to fight back the emotions. Sam knew how loosing those kittens was a blow and went to all this trouble just for him, to make things right, something he didn’t need to do. He stroked each one, giving them a chance to get used to him. “Hello Thomasina and Gem. Welcome home.”

Sam flopped down on the bed beside him. The short-haired kitten promptly attacked his leg. “You know what we should do?” He said, picking it up. “We shouldn’t tell Wanda what happened. Not let on like anything changed. Pretend these are the same cats, nothing’s different If she asks, we’ll just act like we don’t know what she’s talking about.”

“That’s mean, “Bucky said. “But it would be a distraction for her, give her something else to think about. Which one is which?

“I think the long-haired one should be Gem, I mean, apart from the obvious, she’s going to take a lot more maintenance, just like you and it looks like Thomasina is the more dominant one, as it should be.”

“Hilarious.” Bucky became aware Sam’s closeness on the bed, and it made him comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Remembering Sam's words about not getting too close, he picked up Gem as a distraction. She immediately began playing with his hair. “Thank you. You didn’t need to do this,” he said. 

“Yes, I did. Who's the best kitty?" He cooed at Thomasina who stared at him with wide confused eyes. "Besides, you'd do it for me."

“Yes,” Bucky said thoughtfully, stroking Gem’s long hair and watched Sam continued to do the same with Thomasina. “Yes… I would.”


End file.
